1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a photographic system of the type accommodating ready insertion of a thin flat battery assemblage and a thin, flat film assemblage and more particularly to a photographic apparatus of the type accommodating ready insertion and replacement of a flat, thin film assemblage while also facilitating selective removal and replacement of a flat, thin battery assembly subsequent to the utilization of a predetermined number of film assemblages.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Compact and light weight fully automatic photographic systems capable of producing a waste free photographic print of the self-developing type have recently been introduced to the mass consumer market. An example of such a photographic apparatus is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,714,879 entitled "Reflex Camera" issued to Edwin H. Land et. al. on Feb. 6, 1973. This patent shows and describes a fully automatic, single lens, reflex camera capable of being folded into a thin, compact shape suitable for convenient carrying in the pocket of a garment. In addition, the camera is intended for use with a disposable film cassette of a type including an integrated power supply therein. Such a cassette is described in considerably more detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,543,662, issued Dec. 1, 1970; 3,651,746, issued Mar. 28, 1972; and 3,705,542, issued Dec. 12, 1972. These patents describe photographic film cassettes which include a plurality of film units, preferably of the self-developing type, arranged in stacked relation and adapted to be exposed and then withdrawn from the cassette and processed. Also included as an integral part of the cassette is a battery or power supply for operating the components of the camera in which the film units are exposed and processed. The function of the battery is to supply the electrical power requirements to various camera subsystems whose function corresponds closely to those steps in the photographic process that would normally be performed by the system user. Such subsystems include, for example, the exposure control system, film transport system, and a motor powered mechanism for processing the exposed film unit. The battery additionally supplies power to logic circuits within the camera that function to control its sequential operation. In a case where the user is taking a flash picture, the battery additionally supplies the power necessary to ignite the flashbulb or, alternatively, to charge a strobe unit used for artificial lighting.
Batteries of this type incorporated in such film cassettes are required to have a power-delivery capacity sufficient to meet the power requirements of the camera under the worst foreseeable conditions. Such conditions would occur in the case where all pictures taken were flash pictures. Under this condition, as with others, the power would also have to be sufficient to supply the energy necessary to assure that the film would be transported through the processing system at some minimum speed which would insure proper coverage of the exposed film unit by a processing fluid contained with the film unit itself. In order to assure these power drain requirements are fully met, batteries have been designed to have an excess power-delivery potential even under the worse case conditions. However, because of the integral nature of the cassette design which incorporates both the film units and the battery therewithin, the cassette would normally be discarded once all of the film units have been used. This means that the excess or residual electrical power left in the battery would be irretrievably wasted.
To overcome this disadvantage, it has been recently suggested that means be provided in the design of the film cassette which would allow the user to easily remove the battery from the film cassette so that its residual energy could again be utilized. An example of such a film cassette arrangement is fully disclosed in a U.S. Pat. Application Ser. No. 485,795, now abandoned, entitled "Cassette With Battery Insertion/Removal Means", by Nicholas Gold, filed July 5, 1974. The batteries may be recycled for use with a number of film cassettes and since the battery represents a major portion of the cost of the film cassette, the overall cost effectiveness of the system can be dramatically improved to make the system more attractive for a potential buyer as a result of the per unit cost reduction realized by distributing the cost of a battery over a number of film cassettes. In addition, the cost of each film cassette can be individually reduced if sold without a battery.
In addition, this type of film cassette can be purchased and used with a camera system of the type not requiring the battery for its operation. Such a camera might be similar to the one shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,757,657 entitled "Manually Operable Film-Advancing Apparatus" issued to V. K. Eloranta, et. al. on Sept. 11, 1973. The flexibility of having a single film cassette which may be universally used with either a manually operable or electrically powered camera system is therefore most desirable.
However, a measure of inconvenience may arise as a result of the fact that the battery still remains insertable with respect to the film cassette so as to be withdrawn with the film cassette each time a film cassette is removed and replaced. Thus, upon the withdrawal of an expended film cassette, the battery must also be removed therefrom and reinserted into a new film cassette prior to its insertion within the camera. In addition, there remains the risk that a photographer will inadvertently forget to remove the battery from a used film cassette prior to discarding the film cassette, in which case the reserve power of the battery would also be irretrievably lost.
Therefore it is a primary object of this invention to provide a photographic system wherein a battery assemblage may be selectively removed and replaced independently of a film assemblage.
It is another object of this invention to provide a photographic system which can accommodate either conventional film cassettes of the type embodying boty film units and a battery or separate film assemblages and battery assemblages which may be inserted and withdrawn independently of each other.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a photographic system of the type wherein a photographic film assemblage may be inserted into juxtaposition with respect to a battery assemblage and thereafter withdrawn from such juxtaposition without withdrawing the battery assemblage.
Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter. The invention accordingly comprises the mechanism and system processing the construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which are exemplified in the following detailed disclosure.